Product Code Database
John Cosin (30 November 1594 – 15 January 1672) was an English bishop.
In 1630 he received his degree of Doctor of Divinity (DD). He first became known as an author in 1627, when he published his Collection of Private Devotions, a manual stated to have been prepared by command of King Charles I, for the use of Queen Henrietta Maria's maids of honour. This book, together with his insistence on points of ritual in his cathedral church and his friendship with William Laud, exposed Cosin to the hostility of the Puritans; and the book was criticised by William Prynne and Henry Burton. In 1628 Cosin took part in the prosecution of a brother prebendary, Peter Smart, for a sermon against high church practices; and the prebendary was deprived.
On 8 February 1635 Cosin was appointed master of Peterhouse, Cambridge; and in 1640 he became vice-chancellor of the university. In October of this year he was promoted to the deanery of Peterborough. A few days before his installation the Long Parliament had met; and among the complainants who hastened to appeal to it for redress was the ex-prebendary, Smart. His petition against the new dean was considered; and early in 1641 Cosin was sequestered from his benefices. Articles of impeachment were presented against him two months later, but he was dismissed on bail. For sending the university plate to the king, he was deprived of the mastership of Peterhouse (13 March 1643).Roach, J.P.C. (ed.) A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3: The City and University of Cambridge. Chapter: The colleges and halls: Peterhouse; section: Masters of Peterhouse. Accessed 8 September 2014 He went to France, preached at Paris, and served as chaplain to some members of the household of the exiled royal family. At the Restoration he returned to England, was reinstated in the mastership (3 August 1660), restored to all his benefices, and in a few months raised to the see of Durham – he therefore resigned from the Mastership of Peterhouse on 18 October 1660.
Cosin noted that Auckland Castle in the town of Bishop Auckland was empty and that its chapel was in ruin; he went on to improve the property, renovating the Great Hall and converting it into a new chapel that still stands today.Fordyce, p.548
He was elected to that See on 5 November, which election was confirmed on 22 November; he was duly consecrated a bishop on 2 December and enthroned on 8 December 1660.
Cosin was responsible for a style of church woodwork unique to County Durham, a sumptuous fusion of gothic and contemporary Jacobean forms. The font cover in Durham Cathedral is a splendid example of this, as are the displays in the churches at Sedgefield and elsewhere. The Cosin woodwork at St Brandon’s Church, Brancepeth has sadly been destroyed by fire.
At the convocation in 1661 Cosin played a prominent part in the revision of the Book of Common Prayer, and endeavoured with some success to bring both prayers and into better agreement with ancient liturgies. Ultimately, his efforts produced the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, established as the authorized liturgical book of the Church of England by the Act of Uniformity 1662. He administered his diocese successfully for eleven years; and used a large share of his revenues to promote the interests of the Church, of schools and of charitable institutions.
He died in London in 1672. He had married Frances (d. 25 March 1642), the daughter of Marmaduke Blakiston on 15 August 1626 at St Margaret's, Durham.
On a theological point of view, Cosin is considered to be an Arminian anti-Calvinist. In particular, his book of devotions is considered by historians as Arminian and imbued with sacramentalism.
Among his notable work was the translation of "Veni Creator Spiritus" included in the 1662 revision of the Book of Common Prayer; written for the Coronation of King Charles of England, Scotland and Ireland, and sung at every coronation since that time.
|-
|
|
